For Eternity
by demetrapaige
Summary: Orihime Inoue is a young heiress, staying with her uncle's family after the loss of her own family. Her life has been one of being kept from society, her uncle and aunt preferring to display their daughter rather than Orihime. Now that a friend has returned to the area after being gone for many years, she brings new characters into play, changing the story for Orihime and everyone.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, everyone! This is my first time to write a story about any Bleach characters, so forgive me if it is terrible. Please read and comment! Thank you so much, and I hope that you enjoy it.

(_I don't own any Bleach characters, Tite Kubo does. I merely write these stories_.)

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She woke up, stretching her hands above her head before turning over to the newly opened window. The sun danced across her face, slowly begging her to wake up and enjoy her new day.

"Milady, it is time to wake up. Breakfast shall be served in the dining room soon. We need to get you ready for the day, if you don't mind."

Slowly, Orihime forced herself to sit up in her bed. The girl had been lucky in being adopted into a wealthy family; although, her biological family had been just as wealthy beforehand. However, the death of her parents—and shortly afterwards, her brother—causing her to become the sole inheritor of her family fortune but too young to be on her own.

The solution was simple: she would be adopted by her aunt and uncle. The solution had turned out to be far less than 'beneficial' for Orihime though. Her aunt and uncle slowly made it clear that they were not truly fans of her parents. Her uncle was denied full inheritance because her father was the oldest child, so he was also denied the titles and estates of the family, forcing him to make his own way with less support from Orihime's grandfather.

Tensions had only grown as Orihime and her cousin had neared the age of being presented to the public. Fortunately, her cousin—a young girl named Rangiku—didn't share the same feelings as her parents. Instead, they had become very close, almost like best friends.

Orihime stood up, looking at the girl that was slowly pulling away the curtains and opening the windows of her room. The young servant girl had followed her from her earlier home to her uncle's estate, and she had always made sure to take care of Orihime. Compared to many girls of her age, that made her relatively low maintenance.

"Momo, I really appreciate you being so kind every morning. You know how terrible I am at getting around."

The girl in a simple maid outfit that extended to the ground and covered her modestly seemed to blush at the words before gathering her countenance.

"It is no problem, milady. I am simply doing my job," She walked over towards the dress closet and pulled out a beautiful blue dress and all its accessories, "but we need to get you dressed for the day before you miss your meal."

A slight giggle escaped from both girls' mouths before Orihime begrudgingly stood up and walked over to be dressed. The rather large, Victorian dress was beautiful, embroidered with slightly white designs on top of the light blue fabric. The process also took a while, and Orihime was restless. As best she tried, she was still a child at heart and sitting in a chair or standing for long amounts of time seemed like the hardest trial in her life.

The small talk between Momo and Orihime always made the time pass by faster, and she was done before too long. A slight knock came at the door as a frail voice could be heard on the other side.

"Orihime, are you ready to go down for breakfast?"

Momo only smiled before stepping back, finishing Orihime's makeup and final preparations.

"Yes, Rangiku."

As graceful as she could, the young orange-haired girl answered the door to be met with what could easily be mistaken for her older sister. Despite the fact that they were so close in age—only three years separated them, making Rangiku older than Orihime—they looked as if they were closer to the same age, sometimes leading to people mistaking them for twins or sisters.

Rangiku was as beautiful as Orihime wished she could be some day. Her long, orange-blonde hair always framed her face beautifully, making her blue eyes stand out to everyone that met her. Orihime had always been jealous of her features, her grey eyes always seeming so flat to her compared to the fawning over Rangiku's beautiful blue eyes.

"Rangiku, you look beautiful today."

"Thank you, Orihime, but I wish I looked half as beautiful as you do."

Orihime couldn't hide her blush. She always appreciated the kind compliments that Rangiku had for her. As they slowly made their way into the large dining hall, only two places were set at the table.

"Where are Aunt and Uncle?" Orihime was partially confused by the lack of attendance from her two 'step-parents'. It went against everything that they had typically dictated in being on time and present. They never went anywhere, so it was slightly concerning to Orihime.

"They have left to return to town. Mother's sister has fallen ill, and they have traveled to be with her and her children for the moment. Should she not recover, they are going to stay there for a while, helping to take care of the estate. You know how difficult that must be when you have a rather large family and large household. I don't envy them whatsoever."

Rangiku seemed to carelessly throw out the information, but Orihime guessed why she was left out of the conversation about their leaving—they still didn't consider her family. Although Rangiku was the exception, her aunt and uncle had preferred that Orihime be left out of all business for the family and anyone else within it. They didn't care for her involvement, and they were simply biding their time with her life.

She should have had a rather large party to celebrate her 'entering' of society about six months ago, but she was denied that. Her uncle had made it clear that they had spent too much money introducing Rangiku into society a year beforehand, and they weren't going to carelessly spend money during a time like this.

What time that was, Orihime had no idea; however, Momo and she had hypothesized that there were other reasons. Whomever Orihime married would inherit the place that her father or brother would have taken—money, titles, estates, etc…As long as Orihime maintained her 'single' life outside of society, her uncle's family was able to stay in her family's prior estate as well as access the family funds. She had tried to deny it for a few weeks, but it only became more and more clear to Orihime as various events were held to display Rangiku. Orihime was only asked to stay in the background of the event—usually in not very appealing clothing—or to bide her time by taking a 'vacation' to the family cottage by the lake for the weekend.

It didn't bother her too much. These people had taken her in and given her a family. Orihime couldn't deny them any kindness, and she may have been too forgiving with them, but that was her life. She had always been too upbeat. She just had to keep a smile on her face and look to the bright side.

Footmen and butlers entered in and out of the dining room, bringing breakfast trays and drinks to the girls as they ate and discussed their day in the morning. They were going to visit a young friend who had finally moved back to the estates nearby and had invited them for a visit. They'd be getting ready shortly to leave for tea and lunch at her place before returning that evening. Orihime couldn't contain her excitement—traveling and adventure had always been her favorite parts of the stories she read.

Breakfast wrapped up relatively quickly, both girls being too excited for their trip for the day. Orihime came to her room to grab her shawl and parasol before descending to the front of the home. She was only spurred on by the sounds of the horse-drawn carriage finally making its way towards the front of the estate.

Orihime and Rangiku ran down the stairs as quickly as possible to get to the carriage, and they spent the rest of the trip staring out at the country side, discussing how things must have changed for their young friend. They wondered if she would be the same or if she had changed completely. Questions of whether they would be able to still get along or if they would be completely unable to talk. Somehow, they were excited about just figuring out what had changed, whether it be good or not.

Conversation sped up time until they found themselves driving towards the rather large estate that they had only remembered from their childhood. As they got out, they realized how extravagant and beautiful the large mansion was with its marble pillars and large gardens surrounding the drive and entrance to the estate. It seemed to take their breath away for a moment before a footman finally motioned to lead them toward the door, revealing the friend that they had long-awaited.

Yoruichi Shihoin had once been a tiny girl with deep purple hair, but now she was a very beautiful woman before them. She had maintained the same features—long, purple hair and a dark complexion, accentuated by golden eyes—yet she had grown into a very beautiful and graceful woman. Her light green dress only accentuated these features and made her seem like a woman far older than her true age. However, all of this was lost when they all seemed to rush to each other, excited by their reunification.

Moments were spent exchanging hugs and exclamations before finally stepping into the lavish house. As was typical, the Shihoin family had an extravagantly decorated home. The Shihoin family was lucky to claim a family tie to the Royal Family, lending them to be one of the more powerful and wealthy families in the region. Yoruichi's privilege had always been higher than that of Orihime and Rangiku, but they had never let it get between them. It had never seemed as if it was truly a barrier for them, but they had grown aware of it with time.

"I'm so delighted to see you both! It has been too long, and I had longed to see you again."

Yoruichi led them into a rather large sitting room with beautiful furniture throughout. The two girls took seats, while Yoruichi chose a seat facing them. Servants entered, bringing teas and small snacks for them to have before leaving the room again.

"You have to tell me what has happened since I left. Ten years has been far too long, and too many things happen in girls' lives in even a day. Ten years must be excruciatingly filled with details for all three of us. I'm afraid one day will not be enough to gain the entire story as I would like."

Rangiku seemed to lean forward, ready to tell the story of everything that had happened. However, Orihime had seemed to withdraw into herself. Since Yoruichi had left, Orihime had lost her entire family. Her parents had died of the flu that had taken so many lives one year, and her brother had died in a riding accident, succumbing to the wounds of his horse throwing him one afternoon outing. Orihime had struggled for reasoning behind this, but she had yet to find out. Slowly, she had realized that everything had come to face her, Yoruichi seeming to look into her eyes and wait for a response.

"Orihime? Orihime, what has gone on with you? Why are you and Rangiku in the same home? Rangiku's family used to live elsewhere, why are they with you now? Did something happen?"

The words were caught in her throat for a moment. The cup seemed to shake slightly even though she merely had it sitting on its saucer within her lap.

"W-well…I…M-my…" She could say it in her head a thousand times over.

_My parents passed away as well as my brother._

But the words wouldn't leave her mouth. They stuck to the inside of her mouth, refusing to leave without a fight. Doubtless, it reminded her that she had shed many tears at night thinking about her family.

_You're alone_.

Orihime found that she was merely staring down into her tea, looking for some sort of answer from it. If she could, she would will it to speak for her. Suddenly, her attention was caught by the sound of Rangiku speaking.

"Her parents were lost to the flu epidemic, and Sora passed away not long afterwards from a riding accident. She was too young to be on her own, so Orihime came to be a guardian of my parents until she finds a potential suitor."

With guilt, Orihime looked up. _I should have been able to say that. Why couldn't I just say it?_ Slowly, she was greeted by soft hands touching hers. Yoruichi kneeled before her with a sympathetic look.

"I understand your pain. I have returned to Pembrooke Estate because I have lost my father finally to his age. I have been left to be in charge of the estate during this time, along with my husband. In fact, that is part of why I wanted to invite you here. My husband and I will be holding a large, welcoming ball for the local estates and townships to attend to celebrate our return. We shall be bringing acquaintances and friends, but I wanted to make sure that I invited you both. It was important to me that you both attend. Please. He will be arriving Wednesday, and we'll host the party on Friday evening. You can meet him, his family and his guests. I don't want you two to be left out of my life any longer."

Rangiku leaned over with excitement before giggling.

"This sounds wonderful! This gives us so much to do before Saturday. Our parents are out-of-town for a while to help my aunt, and we were in need of something to entertain us. Now, we must get a dress from town and get ourselves ready for Friday evening! Orihime, isn't this wonderful?"

Rangiku's excitement was almost infectious. Orihime couldn't contain herself. She radiated a smile that spread to Orihime's face, and before long she was nodding in agreement.

"Yes! It will be splendid. I really can't wait."

The three girls exchanged excited glances before Yoruicihi stood and regained her composure, pouring herself another cup of tea.

"Oh! You must return on Wednesday evening. My husband will be here along with a few friends. We will have a large dinner to celebrate, and I would like you to meet him. I want you both to be familiar with him before the dance."

Orihime felt excited. She had never been exposed to many ceremonies during her life, especially after Yoruichi had left. Although she loved her dearly, Orihime had never been too close to many people outside of Yoruichi and her family members. After Yoruichi had left, Orihime had only replaced the time that she had used to spend with her by reading every book that she found in the library. She had almost become a recluse, spending hours taking in information that was around her. Orihime loved it, and she loved learning. Now, she was excited to be welcomed to this new world that she had missed out on and see what it was like to meet new, exotic people.

"Yes! Of course we are going to be here on Wednesday. We wouldn't miss it for anything, Yoruichi."

Rangiku looked at Orihime with surprise as she belted out the answer. As soon as she had accepted Yoruichi's invitation to dinner, she found herself drifting off into a world she imagined.

_Who was she married to? Would he be exotic? Was he cultured? Was he more cultured than Yoruichi?_

She couldn't comprehend all of her thoughts as quickly as they poured into her head. Yoruichi seemed so exotic and somewhat tough for a female. She never led anyone to believe that she would be bossed around and controlled like many women their age, yet she was married to someone. Someone had been an equal enough to her to actually convince her to marry and settle down. It was mind-boggling. Orihime imagined all the various guys and relationships she had read about in her stories, trying to figure which 'parts' would align with Yoruichi. It seemed impossible, and she felt the excitement of meeting such a man in person in only a few days.

The girls spent the rest of the evening giggling and discussing stories. They couldn't stop talking, and before long they were interrupted by the main butler excusing himself into the drawing-room.

"Milady. You have other engagements soon to prepare the house. Would you like to cancel them?"

Rangiku began to stand up, aiding Orihime with a hand.

"No, no. You should get your home ready, Yoruichi. We shall go back to the home and begin getting everything ready to attend both your invitations. We are so excited, we can't wait to go home and begin to get everything together. Wednesday shall be here before we know it!"

The girls exchanged their pleasantries and goodbyes before returning outside. As Orihime was escorted into the carriage after Rangiku, she felt like a chapter was opening in her life. Never had so much changed so quickly and so exciting since she had begun living with Rangiku. Her life had seemed so boring; however, it was seeming exciting to imagine meeting these new people and taking part in a lovely dance with a friend she hadn't seen in ages. There would be new, unfamiliar people, and she couldn't wait to see what story would unfold before her. Something interesting had to happen, and she couldn't wait to see what would come next.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you guys for following and commenting on the story. I really appreciate it, and I hope that it keeps living up to good reviews. Thank you so much for the help and encouragement.

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The carriage slowly drifted them along the road, Orihime's thoughts causing the journey to go quickly. Her brain raced of thoughts about everything that had happened. She wondered what the new people she would meet would look like, what they would act like and what they would talk like. Orihime had very rarely met anyone outside of the countryside. The only visitors that she had met were often the same business people in rotation—all business partners of her uncle, visiting to discuss various proposals and exchanges of money.

When her father had been given the large trade company that her grandfather had built up, her uncle was forced to begin a different path and becoming a lawyer in town. Now that Orihime was incapable of taking control of the family company, her uncle had begun watching over the business while working as a lawyer. Orihime had become suspicious of her uncle after he had gone through the system to get temporary control due to his guardianship. Worst of all was that he was taking in the profits, supposedly splitting them between himself and Orihime until her future husband could take over the duties. However, Orihime could never check how much had actually been left in her finances because her uncle had denied her rights from it, citing that she 'had suffered too much mental trauma over the loss of her family' to be charged with finances.

Orihime sighed slightly as the carriage slowed in front of their large estate, the footmen coming out and leading them inside.

"What's wrong, Orihime?"

Rangiku gently looks down at Orihime. _I really need to get better at making sure that I don't constantly sigh out loud. _Surprisingly, she had gotten better at preventing herself from saying what she was thinking out loud. Now, she just had a problem of constantly sighing out loud when she became frustrated with something.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking. I can't believe how quickly things have changed for everyone."

"I know," Rangiku said as they began walking through the home towards the drawing-room, "I can't believe that we are going to meet Yoruichi Shihoin's 'husband' on Wednesday. I never knew that any man would be capable of tying her down for the rest of her life."

Orihime smiled and giggled at the comment.

"I was thinking the same thing. He's must be an interesting character."

Rangiku walked towards one of the servants of the house, informing them that they needed the tailor called as quickly as possible and ask if he could come to the house at his earliest convenience—it was an important job.

The servant ducked out of the room immediately after being told, and shortly after another arrived with tea. Rangiku found herself looking out the window, and Orihime had wondered over to the piano sitting in the corner of the room. The sunlight warmed her back gently as she began to play through various concertos that she had learned throughout the years. Playing had always been the next best comfort she had after her readings. The opportunity to play didn't come as often as she would have preferred. Her aunt almost continually resided within the drawing-room, relaxing and refusing to have much confrontation with anyone else in the house other than her husband. Even Rangiku found it inconvenient.

Orihime relished the ability to play, and slowly Rangiku began to drift towards her, leaning on the piano as she played.

"Orihime, you have always played so beautifully. I wish that you got to play more often. Some might find it contestable how much emotion you show, but I think it is beautiful." Rangiku seemed to look at Orihime with true admiration for the first time that she could consider. They never truly discussed it, but Rangiku had been incapable of doing piano lessons when they were really young—instead she was taught painting. She wasn't bad at it, but it wasn't allowed much by her parents as she had gotten older—expressing her feelings so freely on canvas seemed too 'liberal' for a growing girl in need of a suitor.

However, some of her pieces were still hung about the house, showing her 'culture' with artwork. As the family held parties over and walked around, Rangiku would often have to give a sort of 'tour' for the house and show her artwork as a an honor. Orihime often remained within the library, taking tea and snacks and neglecting the event. Not only was she advised that she wasn't necessary, but she had never felt welcomed the few times that she had refused to leave before the party showed up. Instead, she filled her mind with more stories and other acts around the house.

Orihime finished her performance as one of the servants entered the room. The girl was beautiful despite the maid outfit would be considered extremely modest. In fact, she somehow managed to show her figure as a rebellion to the dress' attempt to prevent it. This girl was noticeable by her beautiful teal colored hair and large green eyes. She was beautiful and was Rangiku's personal woman in waiting. The servant—named Nel—quietly shuffled into the room, attempting to cause the least amount of sound possible.

"Nel, what is it?" Rangiku said to her with the most beautiful ease and gentle way that she always did with the girl. The girls had always been told to keep themselves from getting close to the servants of the house, yet they had broken that rule at every turn.

"The tailor said that he could be here this evening, milady. He's cleared his schedule to take on your order."

"Thank you, Nel." With that the servant girl gently bowed and exited the room, leaving behind a stunned silence.

"Orihime. I'd prefer that you get yourself fitted as well tonight. I'm tired of the things that mother and father have you wear. Finally get yourself something nice and specific for you."

Rangiku hadn't even turned around to acknowledge Orihime when she had spoken. Instead, she had walked towards the door and left her woman in waiting, leaving Orihime in the room alone. Although it was true that her aunt and uncle had gotten her quite unflattering clothing, she wondered why Rangiku was adamant about her being fitted this evening.

Hours passed with Orihime continuing to play and practice piano piece until Momo entered the room, beckoning her to come with her to the parlor.

"The tailor has arrived, milady, and he would like to begin getting your measurements for the dress being made."

Orihime nodded and quickly traveled behind Momo, arriving to the parlor in a quick pace to see Rangiku standing upon a small, circular stand. A man in a rather nice black suit scribbled into a book and smiled.

"Thank you, milady," he said with a courteous smile, "I appreciate your help."

With a smooth turn, he faced Orihime, the man's beautiful blue hair glowing slightly under the light. His hair only accentuated his beautiful eyes, hidden behind glasses. He smiled to Orihime, and she immediately felt the gentle emotions behind the man's eyes.

"You must be Orihime. Your cousin's description of you does no justice—you're more beautiful than words are able to describe."

Orihime felt herself blush at the words from the man before he extended a hand and led her towards the stand as Rangiku stepped off.

"T-thank you…"

The man seemed to smile before doing a bow before her. "You owe me no thanks, milady. Now, if you don't mind, I'll begin taking your measurements. Do you have a specific color scheme or design in mind?"

The man pulled out a tape measure and began to write the measurements that he took.

"No, sir. I'm sorry. I'm not very good at these things."

With that, the gracious man stood up and stopped measuring Orihime. He looked at her, adjusting his glasses as he spoke, "It is quite fine, milady. I can come up with something stunning for you. With how beautiful you are, I only have to accentuate it."

Orihime felt herself grow warmer and flush. The man simply smiled and continued his job. A look around the room revealed that Rangiku had a large smile on her face as well. _Of course she finds this funny. She's always been like this to me._

In what seemed like forever, the man finally wrapped up the appointment and helped Orihime down.

"When are you needing these dresses by, milady?"

"Friday. We have a dance at Yoruichi Shihoin's estate, and we would like to look our best. Is that possible?"

The young tailor simply smiled and looked at Rangiku before finishing packing up.

"Yes. Yes it is, milady. Anything for you both." With that he bowed two both women and escorted himself out of the room, heading towards the front door.

"Well, Orihime, I have never seen you blush so much."

Orihime could only muster a somewhat annoyed look at Rangiku. Shortly afterwards, she broke out into laughter at the face, and Orihime slowly began to smile as well.

"Who was that?"

"It was my tailor. He's been mine for a while, and I figured that he had to do something wonderful for you if he could work with my body type. His name is Uryuu Ishida. His father was a tailor, and he took up the business as well. Most likely he will take over when his father was done with the business, and who could blame him—Uryuu is wonderfully talented."

Rangiku simply smiled and walked away, heading towards the west side of the home. Orihime took this chance to speak on everything that had occurred today and read for the rest of the day. Heading up to the family library, she picked out a new book that she hadn't yet delved into—a book whose author simply said, "A lady".

Before they knew it, Orihime and Rangiku were preparing themselves for dinner with Yoruichi. The dressing finally complete as well as the makeup and hair, the girls slowly descended the stairs to wait for the carriage. Rangiku was dressed in a beautiful light green dress, accented with a pearl white, and Orihime complemented her in a beautiful light pink dress that had a pearl white accent as well. The two were a complementary pair in both dress and excitement, practically running towards the carriage as it was opened for them.

The ride was spent with them watching out the window and talking to each other about what they believed this guy to be, what he must look like, and what he was going to talk about. They had no idea what he would be—he could be anything to them. With every passing second and realization of his anonymity, the excitement only seemed to increase for them.

Orihime found herself bouncing somewhat, twiddling her hands together in anticipation. She stared out of the window, watching everything pass around her while thoughts ran through her mind.

"Looks like we are here, finally."

Rangiku's voice mirrored the carriage beginning to slow down, taking its spot on the first circular drive at the front of the house. As the butler led the two girls into the house, they found that a warmth had come through the home. Quickly, they heard the sound of steps and quickly saw Yoruichi coming into view from the stairs that sat on the right side of the room.

"It is so wonderful to see you both!"

Yoruichi looks beautiful in a dark blue dress that would stun anyone that gazed upon her. As soon as she neared them, she immediately took both girls' hands and began to drag them towards the same direction as the sitting room before stopping a door earlier.

"Alright. My husband went to town a little while ago to pick up some friends that have arrived early, so he will be a little late. However, he demanded that we start early without him, and I'm excited to get some discussion in before they show up! I don't want to feel like I have missed anything!"

Orihime giggled, but a slight wave of disappointment came over her after she realized that they weren't immediately about to meet this anonymous character. The feeling only lasted moments before she felt herself perk up, excited about the fact that he would be bringing other friends along him. There would be more interesting people that she had never met before! Orihime felt herself get giddy as they entered the lavish dining room and took their seats.

"So, are either of you girls engaged?"

Yoruichi sat slightly forward, eyeing both back and forth. Orihime immediately felt nervous and somewhat embarrassed about the fact that she hadn't really interacted with any men since she had been 'introduced' into society. Rangiku began talking about some men that she had danced with, but how things had never truly progressed any further than that. Slowly, Orihime felt the glance of Yoruichi shift over, staring at her despite the silence. Sadly, they had gotten used to having to force Orihime to speak about anything personal.

"And you Orihime? Don't make me force you out. I don't want to have to force it out of you."

Orihime slightly sighed, admitting defeat.

"I haven't actually talked with anyone since then. I've been to a few things, but I haven't pursued anything. As it stands, I'm still a single woman."

_It's a little out of the truth, but it isn't much. I don't want to ruin today…_

Fortunately for Orihime, Yoruichi took that excuse and continued to discuss generalized topics, stating that she had been much the same for a long time. She had just dismissed everyone, but she had changed herself once she had sat down and talked with her husband. _So, she's changed somewhat. This man must be something different to do that. She's always been so stubborn…_

Yoruichi seemed to smile as she heard the servants begin rustling up and down the hall. Finally, they began to enter from various doors, bringing in a large feast of to the women and arranging their plates. A large amount of very delicious food was sat before Orihime—it both warming and running its scent throughout the room.

"This looks delicious Yoruichi! It's going to be amazing."

Yoruichi only seemed to smile. "Thankfully, my husband brought his cook with him. Ours had gone for a while, and he had a love of the man, so bringing him with us was an easy decision. I'll have to send him my regards. He prepared this while also preparing for Friday. I don't know how life has existed before now."

Orihime was pleased. Food was her favorite part of the social parties. She loved the interesting foods that were always brought out, and she loved getting to try everything.

The girls sat, discussing various topics and eating, until a slight disturbance was heard outside that unmistakable—a carriage had pulled up to the front of the house. Orihime's attention was piqued by the sound of people clamoring to the front of the home as the sound of footsteps and discussion could be heard. She began to watch the door as the sounds only seemed to near their dinner.

"That must be them now," Yoruichi said with a calm smile, although, you could read faint excitement behind her eyes.

There was a silence that ran through room that felt deafening for Orihime. Her blood pressure and heart rate speed up from anticipation. It was pressuring Orihime.

Yoruichi gracefully walked towards the door before it was gently opened by one of her servants, revealing the man that the interest had been so piqued by. A rather tall man came walking into the room in the typical black suit on and a cane in his right hand. His face was aligned with a blonde hair shaped into a v at the middle of his face, a top hat with a band of green and white around it.

"Ladies. This is my husband—Kisuke Urahara." The man seemed to smile as he gently wrapped his hand around her waist. He leaned over and kissed her cheek before pulling back with a large smile across his face.

"Hello! You must be the friends that Yoruichi has talked so much of!" He seemed to have a boisterous personality that filled the room despite how slim his figure was. It was intoxicating. He traveled towards the table before taking a seat nearest where Yoruichi had been seated.

Orihime and Rangiku simply smiled and nodded as a response to his statement, watching him with a keen eye at everything he did. A servant hurriedly ran up to him, whispering in his ear before he smiled and nodded to dismiss the servant.

"I'm sorry for being late. I had some friends arrive early from town to attend the celebration—which I trust you are attending as well—today. I caught them at the train station, and I simply brought them back. They should be joining us as well in a few moments, once they are settled."

Yoruichi seemed to smile before the words got out of her mouth.

_He brought more people with him?!_ Thoughts raced through her head, filling it with curious questions. Would they be interesting? Would it be like her novels had always made curious strangers out to be? What would they be like? Orihime was whirling around in the ocean of her thoughts, staring at her plate. Only caught back up by the sound of the conversation seeping back into her ears.

"—They should be coming in soon. I'm not sure what is taking so long." Orihime watched as the new man spoke, and a group of servants seemed to rush out of the room as the subtle command slipped from his lips.

Within moments they seemed to return, bringing with them two other guests—a girl in a light blue gown and a man in a simply black outfit, resembling that of their new guests. However, the man had long pink hair which accented the short dark hair of the female attached to his arm. They looked very interesting with the woman being a bit shorter than the man who escorted her, but Orihime's was lost in her assessments.

"Orihime, Rangiku, I would like to introduce my husband's close friends and business partners, Renji Abari and his wife, Rukia, and…"

The man with the pink hair simply bowed before removing his hat to show his long hair was tied into a pony tail.

"I'm sorry, but he refused dinner. He didn't want to…after the travel."

Mr. Urahara looked down and simply smiled.

"You'll have to excuse my third guest. He has a reputation and habit for being deemed…unreasonable as well as a pension for disliking the social atmosphere of our status. I'll have to introduce you all another evening."

Orihime had found everything else intoxicating as it was, but she was taken in by this new stranger—someone who she knew was there, but she had no idea of. He was mysterious, and he didn't agree with the laws that had been so strictly set around Orihime and her life. She didn't understand him, but she wanted to. Hurriedly, she began to eat and thinking, wondering what this man could mean for the story she had beginning her head.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello, everyone! I hope that you have all had a wonderful holiday, and you only have a better one as we near New Year's Eve. I really appreciate every ounce of support I have received for this story, and all of your comments have been wonderful criticism and motivation.

As always, I don't own Bleach or its characters, Tite Kubo does. I simply borrow the characters for my stories, and I hope that you enjoy!

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"_You'll have to excuse my third guest. He has a reputation and habit for being deemed…unreasonable as well as a pension for disliking the social atmosphere of our status. I'll have to introduce you all another evening." _

The words ran over Orihime's mind like chocolate drizzled over a dessert. It was intoxicating. She had met all the players in the game, but one piece remained unaccounted for. Throughout the ride home, she had faced the night sky as it blanketed the hills of the countryside, day-dreaming about the man who could have hidden himself so decidedly from their company.

In fact, the guests spent the rest of the night discussing only the disagreeable attitude that their other 'companion' usually exhibited.

"He has the most distressing reputation back home, ladies. You'll just have to excuse him." Mrs. Abari had seemed reluctant at first to directly engage in a conversation with Rangiku and Orihime, however, that had worn away with time and the aid of Yoruichi's aide.

Her husband had remained somewhat closed to open interaction though. "I've known him since we were children. He has always remained like this, and the loss of a parent and age has only aided him in his withdrawal from society. It's been the most interesting life because of him."

"Indeed. In fact, Mr. Abari is the reason that I first met him whatsoever. He introduced him to me, and this is how we all became business partners. Don't mistake us to say that he isn't an interesting person—he's most charming and educated. He just doesn't care to entertain those he doesn't find interesting…which is most people."

Mr. Urahara had been very diplomatic in discussing this third person, and Orihime had listened to each word, consuming it as if it was water for someone wandering in the desert. She couldn't hide her entertainment. Rangiku delicately leaned over to her, whispering into her ear, "My, my, Orihime. I have never seen you so interested in a conversation. Has something finally caught your attention?"

The feeling rushed to her cheeks. She couldn't deny it—her attention was caught up in trying to figure out this man as best she could. Nothing came to mind though. She had always heard of the guys that swooned women or arranged marriages. Dances and pageantry were all part of the need for these men and women to fall in love. That was the point to everything.

_Or so…That's what Aunt and Uncle taught us to believe. There's no point if you don't take part in all that… You can only meet people if you take part in all of this…_

"Oh, I was just listening. We have had so much happen today that I couldn't believe it. I was so interested in hearing everything that was said."

Orihime smiled and looked down at her plate as the servants began to clean up. Quietly, rehearsed as many things are within country life, the party stood up and quietly left their seats, heading towards the drawing-room as was expected.

Slowly, Orihime took her seat, listening to more conversation happen around her. Rangiku was standing, talking with everyone in a large, circular group that had formed near the fireplace of the room. Orihime remained seated on the large sofa nearest them, preferring to take in all the conversation and description of places that she imagined.

"You're Orihime, correct?" A light hand breezed across her upper forearm, grazing her and giving her shivers. As she turned to her side, there was Mrs. Abari leaning in.

"Y-yes, Mrs. Abari." Orihime smiled to herself as she leaned away and re-arranged herself to easily face her diagonally. The girl was smiling, interested in everything that could be said by Orihime.

"Mrs. Urahara tells me that you and your sister were good friends of hers. Is that correct?"

Orihime blushed. Even though the question wasn't actually that personal, she was feeling as if it was. Orihime had gotten used to always being the background of all conversation—Rangiku getting all the attention that her Uncle and Aunt could bring to her. Truth be told, Orihime never really minded. There wasn't anything that had made her feel as if she wanted the gift of being the center of attention. Instead, she preferred being in the side of the room, observing everyone and everything around her.

"Y-yes, Mrs. Abari. We were around the same age when we were children, so it was understandable that our families often had us intermingle during lessons and 'play' time when we were available. It was always quite nice to spend time with each other. After Mrs. Sh...Urahara moved away, Rangiku and I were quite lost and saddened. It's a pleasure and a blessing to see her again and to see her so happy. Life has done her well."

"Well," the girl seemed to beam a larger smile, "Mrs. Urahara hasn't done you justice. She said you were humble and very well spoken, yet she didn't explain exactly how correct she was. She didn't do you justice whatsoever, Orihime. So, you must be near her age, but I don't see a ring on your finger. Are you not yet wed or engaged to some young man?" Mrs. Abari seemed to coyly eye Orihime's bare hand as she spoke the question.

"No, ma'am. I haven't yet met any man who has proposed to me." Orihime simply looked to her hand, suddenly feeling as if the lack of anything on it had made it more of a burden. It felt as if it had become heavier than the rest of her body.

Mrs. Abari turned her head towards the ceiling, resting her hands behind herself. She supported her delicate figure easily, and Orihime admired her—there was never any way that she could look delicate and poised in such a way as Mrs. Abari.

"Ah, that is interesting. It is a shame, as well. You're a very beautiful woman and intelligent enough to only make yourself more of an endearing woman. I find it a shame that men haven't flocked to you, and I think that it would be most interesting to see this remedied. I don't know how yet, but I think we are going to have to look into getting your situation fixed, Orihime."

Mrs. Abari stretched herself and giggled slightly.

"Mrs. Abari…That's quite kind of you, but it is completely unnecessary. There is no reason for you to inconvenience yourself nor trouble yourself with my life. Really. It isn't anything to concern yourself with."

Orihime couldn't help herself. She watched as the young girl poised herself and got up.

"I know exactly what I do and don't have to concern myself with. Unluckily for you, I have found myself interested in your situation. It's a shame, and I have fancied myself quite intrigued by…unique situations. Don't concern yourself. I won't concern myself too much, Orihime."

With that, the small girl seemed to glide her way back towards her husband and join the group of people still talking. Orihime watched as she effortlessly fit into the group and seemed to pick up as if she had been there all along—never giving away that she had sat next to Orihime only moments before. She watched as she laughed and engaged in a discussion with Rangiku as everyone else was, erupting with laughter and joy at random moments within the conversation.

Orihime had always thought it was beautiful how Rangiku had simply fit into conversation without having to work. At a moment's notice, she was completely able to fit into conversations and circles with ease.

_I'm sure that Mrs. Abari merely noticed how awkward I am, or worse: how terrible I am at social situations. _

Still, Orihime couldn't help but wonder as to why the woman had taken such an interest in her, and she wondered if it had something to do with conversations that they had shared with Yoruichi the last time that they had visited her home. There was something that was colliding in the world, and Orihime wasn't quite sure as to what.

As they road home, Orihime was silent but—for the first time in a while—wasn't looking outside the window she sat beside. Instead, she was looking forward, seemingly staring at the empty carriage seat across from her.

"Orihime," Rangiku began to speak up, "What are you thinking about?"

"N-nothing. I'm sorry. I'm just very tired…" Orihime had only somewhat come back into reality. She wasn't fully invested in snapping out of her world. Orihime had considered the evening over again in her head; everything that was said, everyone that was there, and everything that she imagined. She still couldn't get out of her head everything that _hadn't_ been said. There was something intriguing about the mystery character that had shown up to the home without a single visit to the people around him. Instead, he simply led himself to his room and excused himself from society—without any approval from anyone else.

Orihime sighed before she felt the glare of Rangiku, bearing down on her body.

"I've meant to ask you. What did the young Mrs. Abari have to say? You both seemed to have an interesting conversation while the rest of us were discussing the ball."

Orihime nervously glanced around the carriage. In all honesty, she didn't feel like the conversation was something that should have told Rangiku. Orihime felt as if it was private, very private.

"Um…Well…she asked me about my induction into society and if I was seeking any man or had a fiancé. That's all."

Orihime felt herself blush, slowly feeling every inch of her face begin to grow a darker shade until it became red.

"Hmm… That's interesting. She asked me the same questions. She's so…interested. I don't understand why. Perhaps it is the same reason that we are interested in her—we are something new and intriguing, just as she is."

Orihime breathed out all the air that she had held in. _Thank God she accepted that. _

Even if she hadn't, Orihime felt better having Rangiku drop the subject. It had felt personal, as if Rangiku was looking into her life and trying to find something. It had bothered Orihime, and she just now began to feel her heart start slowing down, aware of how afraid she truly had become.

The carriage slowly pulled back up into the house, just in time to allow Orihime the chance to get inside the house as quickly as possible. As soon as the door was opened, and she touched ground, Orihime had taken towards the house, heading for the library. The dark stranger had reminded her of something that she had read once, and she wanted to re-read it again, potentially giving him an identity.

With a fervor, she reached the library and released herself from the oppression outside of the door. As the door shut, she graced her hand along the first few spines closest to her, and she began to scan the library, knowing exactly where she wanted to go. Orihime delicately pulled the volume from its resting place and pulled it towards her. She cherished each moment with every single book.

The days seemed to drag. Each morning, Orihime found herself quickly running to the library to read another book and continue the imagined journey in her head. _Was the mystery man like this male character? No, no, no. Maybe he was like this one…_ Each tome opened seemed to offer endless possibilities to her. Orihime imagined him, tracing over every description of his character to understand something, drawing connections between her friends—these characters—and the man she imagined meeting at the ball.

During a swift run through the next book, reading the plot as fast as possible, she finally raised her head to look out the window. The book seemed to continue throughout her mind—the words committed there as if they were by memory. They seemed to swim around her head, wrapping her in a dream that she could only imagine.

A sound knock seemed to stir Orihime back to reality.

"Milady, your dress is here. It's time for you to get fitted into it, so we can have any problems fixed—if there are any."

Orihime slowly came back to reality, closing the book and setting it aside. Slowly, she seemed to drift out of the room and towards her bedroom. The next time she realized it, Orihime was standing, feeling herself be fitted into a beautiful sky blue dress. The fit was the closest she had ever felt to her body. This was also the first dress that she had gotten her own, fitted corset as well. Usually, Orihime found herself borrowing from Rangiku, and where it didn't fit any longer she was forced to deal with. However, she had her first taste of enjoying something being especially made for her. As she reached down and touched the fabric, Orihime saw a slight lace-like pattern within the blue fabric. This was accentuated by the addition of gloves and accents that matched in the same color as the light trace.

As Momo gently slipped on the shoes that completed the outfit, Orihime finally caught a glimpse of herself within the mirror. Momo had done her best with preparing her for tonight's ball, and she couldn't believe the results. Her beautiful, orange hair was beautiful tucked into an elaborate design at the back of her hair with pearls attached to small pins positioned throughout the elaborate weaving of her hair. Two curls gently hung on either side of her face. The makeup was subtle, but it was largely enchanting to Orihime. She'd never had make-up done before, and she found herself entranced about how her face looked now. It seemed like a completely different person.

Excitement took every cell of her body, and Orihime felt like electricity was flowing through her veins. The world became so tense for those few moments, and she was incapable of speaking. The only sound that came from the mouth of the young girl was a squeal that emanated throughout her mouth. Orihime smiled as Momo seemed to light up in reaction to her. It was intoxicating. Happiness was transitioning throughout the room, and she could feel it. Momo simply motioned towards the door and slightly bowed.

Orihime lifted her large dress and quickly ran through the door only to bump into a quite beautifully done and matching Rangiku. Her dress—nearly the same but a shade of red and black instead—seemed to accentuate her beautifully. Orihime believed she could easily be mistaken for an angel. _Doubtless she is going to be the talk of the ball tonight. I'm so happy for her. _

Orihime simply smiled, and held her hand. Both girls were beautifully happy, and a large giggle echoed throughout the house as the scurried towards the door. They seemed to have a slight bounce to them until the carriage finally arrived at the front door. As they scurried in, they began talking about each other. There were ramblings back and forth over the other's appearance and what they believed would happen tonight. Design was discussed, who all would be there, and what all would happen. Orihime felt herself giggle loudly and Rangiku followed quite afterwards. They were excited. Theories about if they would meet the mystery man were uttered by Orihime to the amazement of Rangiku.

"Are you still curious about that man? He sounded absolutely detestable from everyone's account of him." Rangiku simply smiled before giggling. "You always seem so interested in everything that is mysterious. You can't ever give up anything that isn't explained to you."

The heat rushed to Orihime's face yet again. "I-I'm sorry. I just…don't understand, and I want to. Is that bad, Rangiku?"

Orihime simply looked down, staring at the bottom of her beautiful dress and the carriage. As she sat there, Orihime heard Rangiku simply giggle.

"No. I hope that you find this mystery is everything that you want it to be. You deserve that." Rangiku turned her head to the window. "It looks like we are here."

The large estate was bustling with activity. Large amounts of carriages seemed to be in rotation throughout the front of the house. Large groups were entering the house. The house was aglow with lights in every window, and it grew brighter as the sun finally began to set behind it. Orihime and Rangiku almost leapt out of the carriage as it finally pulled towards the house; their invitation being turned over at the door. Two large butlers came forward with two masquerade masks, placing them on both Orihime and Rangiku's faces. The girls giggled and rushed inside, seeing the house bustling with guests.

People passed from ballroom to the rather large formal dining room. Servants traversed with drinks and foods on trays as people seemed to blur before them. Rangiku and Orihime immediately heard their names being called out to them from ahead. As they pushed through, trying to reach the voice finally, they were greeted by a beautifully tanned figure in a rather beautiful black, lace gown.

"Yoruichi, you look beautiful!" Orihime could barely get out of her mouth before the young girls were embracing and giggling. It felt like a rare visit back to their youth when they joined into the gala of their parents, and they giggled with excitement just to be included.

"I hope that you find everything visually appealing so far. My husband had this wonderful idea to try this new idea of a masquerade ball here. He hopes-"

"-that it would open guests to being a bit more free and candid with each other. Some people feel better behind a mask."

Orihime simply smiled as Mr. Urahara came into view behind Yoruichi, delicately placing a hand around her waist. All the masks were same, plain masks for the guests; however, the couple before them had a beautiful black design on the left side. Most likely it was if they were called upon explicitly, making them easy to find, but Orihime was intrigued by the masks.

As Orihime began to watch the people around her intermixing, she found herself holding her hands, playing with her fingers.

"—you found something quite interesting, I see. Oh, there is Mr. and Mrs. Abari. However," Mr. Urahara continued to look around the crowd, "I do not see our last guest."

The Urahara couple began looking around as Orihime found her arm being gently pulled on. As she gently turned around, Orihime was confronted face to face with Mrs. Rukia Abari, masked like everyone else. With her delicate hands, Rukia pulled her down.

"How about you come with me, and we take to enjoying the rest of the party while they…gossip, hmm?"

Orihime smiled and turned around, grasping Rukia's hand and following her through the crowd. Orihime watched as people turned to admire them, drifting from floor tile to floor tile as if it was a beautiful dance they executed by themselves and themselves alone.

Finally, they reached the large ballroom and took a stance on the sides of the room, watching as a large group of people began to dance about during the song. Intricately they weaved a pattern across the floor. Orihime imagined that if she had tied ribbons to them, their choreographed dance would have found them creating a blanket. Orihime felt her face become flush as she watched the people twirling around each other, hitting their marks with her precision and perfection. She had never seen such emotion freely shown within society. There was careful caution to present yourself as a lady, and dancing seemed to allow a closeness between men and women that wasn't allowed anywhere else.

"Orihime," Rukia smiled and seemed to follow Orihime's eyes, "Are you interested in something? Have you never been to a dance?"

Orihime couldn't help but try to hide her face. There was something embarrassing about being 'introduced to society' and never being to a dance. Orihime couldn't imagine that Rukia would be able to accept that Orihime was introduced into society and actively trying to find a husband. Truth was, her aunt and uncle never let her actively attend large balls. The largest she had been at was a gala that had roughly ten people; however, this ball seemed to have potentially a hundred people vehemently interacting with each other.

Orihime slowly drifted back into consciousness to find Rukia, looking back at her. "I am going to take that as a sign that you've never really been to a dance, which is quite fine."

Orihime blushed and continued to watch the dance. People continued to dance—she was intrigued. Rukia continued to talk, fading in and out of her consciousness. Slowly, Orihime became aware of someone sliding behind Rukia.

"Care to dance, madam?" Orihime turned to see Rukia coyly smile and bow, "I accept, sir."

Orihime watched as Rukia took the hand of the man. As she turned and took in the full view, Orihime became aware of the man's pink hair. Orihime caught the face of Rukia, filled with joy that she hadn't seen. It was a coy look of happiness and bliss—love by any idea of the notion. As she took a glass of champagne from the nearby waiter, she began to watch the couple dance—never disconnecting from the other's gaze.

_It's really admirable that they can still be like this—as if they are courting—after having gotten married._

"It's genuinely disturbing how happy they can be sometimes…"

Orihime stopped, slowly lowering her glass back down from her lips.

"Excuse me?"

"They act as if they are juvenile and young. It's detestable."

"I think it's rather admirable." Orihime simply heard a snicker.

"Only those who are romantic would find it admirable."

"Only those that know they'll never find it would be so condemning." Orihime felt herself began to smile.

_Perhaps the champagne had inspired me to speak too freely…_

Orihime felt regret as the silence seemed to continue for a few moments.

As she turned her head, Orihime found herself looking at a rather tall, masked man. The only discernible feature that she could distinguish were beautiful chocolate eyes and rather orange-colored hair. He was drinking from his glass, eyes staring at Rukia and her husband quite intently—a smirk across his face.

Rather quickly, her face felt flushed, and Orihime was watching his face before he made full eye contact with her.

"Hello…"

"H-hello." Orihime smiled and looked back at the couple, dancing around the room. Their tempo seemed to match the song quite perfectly.

"How well do you know them?"

Orihime sipped at her drink again before answering it. All the while she kept focusing on the couple.

"I've only known them a few days. I met them through the Uraharas. I was childhood friends with Yoruichi."

"Ah. You were one of the young girls that she talked about. What were their names…"

Orihime felt herself smirk.

"I'm Orihime Inoue."

"Ah…" She felt a gleam from the man and smirk, "I am sorry I had forgotten. I'm-"

"Ichigo Kurosaki." Orihime felt herself smirk once again. In fact, she faintly heard herself giggle.

"Your general disposition and countenance matched what everyone else has described you as. Disagreeable, distant, and anti-social. I assumed it must be you."

Orihime looked at couple dancing, as they both seemed to smile and look back for a moment before returning to themselves. Their world broke into hers for a moment only to retreat again. Orihime felt warm from it—like a fireplace during a winter night.

Orihime dared to dance with the devil. She glanced at Mr. Kurosaki one more time. His face seemed stern and fixed; however, she felt that there was a tension to it as if he was somewhat hiding something.


	4. Chapter 4

Once again, I do not own Bleach-Tite Kubo does. I'm simply writing stories with the characters.

I have appreciated the messages and comments about this story, and the support has been absolutely wonderful. I really do thank you all so much, even if you only read the story and that is all. I still appreciate that.

Oh! And on another note, I have had some note that there are some references and resemblances between this and some Jane Austen novels. There will be some calls back to her and her works. I started this during a phase of reading her works and visiting her home, and I had inspiration at that time to write some sort of romantic story as she would but in my way. Thank you so much for all your continued support, and I hope that it continues to be satisfactory!

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Orihime smiled as she continued to sip her drink. Her last comment, making the young, mysterious man had made it a fun game. Everything seemed interesting to her now. Everything was simply more vibrant. It had been a long time since she had found herself able to talk with someone mentally as she had.

_Truth be told…I took the idea from many books I had read._

She was always supposed to play a mental game with the man. It was never meant to be easy. Any time a character had a problem with society and some sort of knowledge was always in need of someone to put them back in their place. Although she had taken it upon herself to put him in his place, she couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of both happiness and guilt. Orihime had never been so rude with someone, especially someone who she didn't truly know, but she had felt that it was necessary. All of her studying and research had led to Orihime believing that it was necessary to remind Mr. Kurosaki that he wasn't better than the ones around him.

In fact, she had found it somewhat infuriating that he couldn't truly retaliate with her, but she had one this first chess game. Orihime was sure that she was going to find trouble with everyone due to her actions, but she found that it was completely necessary. Orihime smiled to herself as she had walked away from the man, sipping from her drink very delicately.

Interestingly, she found herself with a slight dance in her step as she had walked away. Orihime carefully danced through the group of people on the sidelines of the dance floor before finding her way through the door and out of the room. The door led her to a wonderful, large garden that belonged at the back of the house. Large flowers bloomed in various colors throughout the garden, leading to a center area that contained a very large fountain. The way that the moonlight seemed to hit it, Orihime couldn't help but be drawn to it. The light seemed to bounce on the large statue of Dionysus. He seemed relaxed, sitting at the 'bottom' of a large sculpted tree and drinking from a goblet of wine. The water seemed to make it look as if tiny lights flickered on him like fireflies forever trapped within the image the sculpture created.

"I've read about you…quite a few times." Orihime seemed to only giggle as she ran her hands along the edge of the fountain piece, tracing its line and after the circle around it. The marble of the statue seemed cold despite how warm outside felt to her. _The weather has never been one to tell the truth._

Orihime sighed outwardly for the first time since she had been at the party. Slowly, she walked until she reached the back of the statue and could see the moonlight. As delicately as she could, she balanced herself on the edge of the fountain, seating herself and looking up at the moonlight. Orihime sat there in silence for a few moments before she began to do what she always did when a book wasn't readily available—hum. She hummed to her heart's content. There were songs, few and far between, that she truly knew, and she seemed to really only remember the ones that she had been told her mother used to sing. Although she didn't have many—if any—memories of her parents, she found that the humming had always been calming.

Forgetting that she was alone, Orihime grew a little brazen with her humming, opening herself up and singing some words of the songs that she had remembered or figured out through the years. She continued for a few moments until her song was drawn short by a gentle touch on the shoulder; however, Orihime had squealed before jumping up and turning to see who had followed her.

"I hope that you don't mind me having stumbled out here. Your singing was beautiful, and I couldn't leave you sitting out here alone. I get so saddened seeing close friends out and alone during such a lively party. It is truly a shame."

Orihime simply smiled. Mask tucked into his right, coat pocket, Mr. Urahara still felt like a stranger. Although he was closer than that—and frankly because of his ties to Yoruichi—he was somewhat of an enigma to Orihime, and she didn't know where to place him within her circle of friends.

"I appreciate the gesture, Mr. Urahara. I was simply overwhelmed with the large amount of people in the room. I had to get out by myself once for a few moments."

Orihime simply smiled and giggled. What normally would have made her quite embarrassed, talking about her interactions in a large group, simply resulted in her giggling to herself. _Perhaps I truly have had too much to drink for the evening._ Setting her drink down beside herself, she clasped her hands in her lap and gave her full attention to Mr. Urahara.

"That's what I had thought and assumed. You didn't seem as if you had much earlier interaction with very large groups. Selfishly, I had wondered if you would be capable of handling such a gathering. I figured I would find you out here eventually after things had gotten to be too much for you out there," Mr. Urahara simply placed one hand over Orihime and slightly gripped it in a gentle and caring gesture, "Are you okay? Do you need a carriage? If you are uncomfortable and wish to return home, I assure you that no one will be bothered or think any less of you."

Mr. Urahara gently removed his hand and smiled, turning to admire the moon as Orihime had done before. She followed his eyes before slightly smiling. "I don't wish to return home, Mr. Urahara. I admire your concern, and I am infinitely thankful for it; however, I just needed some air. You're right that I don't have much experience with this, but I'd like to continue and force myself to experience it. You never know when you'll get another chance like this in life, and I would hate to spend the rest of mine regretting it."

Orihime could hear Mr. Urahara giggle slightly before he spoke next, taking in her words. "Orihime, you never cease to amaze me. Truly, Yoruicihi doesn't give you enough praise, "He smiled even brighter, "So, I heard that you met my esteemed third guest. I trust he wasn't too rude or inconvenient for you to have to endure in public. He can be rather off-putting and terrible to have discourse with."

It was Orihime's turn. She found herself giggling as Mr. Urahara had just moments beforehand.

"He wasn't too bad. I simply had a small discussion with him and left him with some thoughts to consider for himself. Perhaps he will be open to some rather…friendly criticism of his attitude." Orihime felt herself chuckle, but she tried to stifle it by covering her mouth with her hand.

"I believe the drink or the atmosphere has made you more brazen this evening, and I can't say that anyone would be disappointed." The small silence after the sentence was cut short as a servant stepped out from another entrance to the garden, informing Mr. Urahara that he was needed within the house.

"I'm sorry, but it seems that I am needed," The gentleman said as he stood up, removing his mask from the pocket and placing it back upon his face, "However, should you grow tired of the party or wish to escape again, we have a rather large library—two stories in fact—with various amounts of literature I have purchased and obtained through journeys along Yoruichi's collection and her family's earlier collection. Doubtless, there are several volumes in there you haven't had experience with."

He quietly turned from Orihime before turning back, yelling to her a delicate message that made a smile cross her face: "You are more than welcome to take whatever books suit your interest, as long as you continue to be as witty as you have been this evening."

With that, Orihime was left with the sound of Mr. Urahara and his servant returning to the party. The loud noise could be heard as the door opened and closed behind them. Orihime was thrilled with the party, but she found herself in a sort of conundrum. She didn't care for the large groups of people and the tightness of the space that resulted from it, but she was comforted by it being there. Although it was selfish, Orihime never wanted this evening to end. It had been a grand success in her opinion, and she felt pleased with every aspect of it. Judging from the few glances that she had managed to catch, she must have looked decent enough to call for some attention, but she had been able to keep her anonymity, and that had been beautiful.

"And to top it all off, the mysterious man has been revealed…somewhat." She couldn't help but smile at that. Finally, she had a face to attach to the name and stories. _Somewhat_. The mask had held back most of his face—she wouldn't deny that. However, she had a brilliant imagination. What she had filled in was something that she found entertaining and entrancing, but she was sure that she had given a compliment to the man by letting her mind draw his face for him.

_Now you are getting proud…and a little rude._

_But…that doesn't make it any less fun_.

Orihime giggled to herself, looking back up at the moon once again. It shone so bright in her eyes that she felt as if she was basking in the sun. She listened as the music changed to a beautiful waltz. Orihime stood up and quietly swayed to the music before she did a few waltz dance steps by herself, imagining the handsome man who had traveled from page to page in her novels—the man that she chased from book to book.

Orihime stood up and turned to the fountain. The dance shifted from the waltz to a more up-tempo song, and Orihime found herself saying goodbye to that mysterious man yet again. There was another night, someday, when she would find him. As he disappeared into another time—a dream or book she would read—while she made her way through the day until she could see him again. A smile slipped across her face as she tried to compose herself again. A small skip in her step, Orihime walked her way towards the home and found the nearest butler.

The man led her down a hall opposite of the direction the party was going. As they reached the middle of the hallway, the butler opened a large wooden door, letting Orihime in before leaving the room. The library was expansive and beautiful. Large bookshelves extended almost every inch of the room with paintings dispersed in between. An elegant staircase extended to a second floor on the right half of the room that had more bookshelves, although, they were shorter than the first floor's shelves. Large, two-story back windows gave the room a beautiful view of the moon outside, while beautiful gas lamps and large chandeliers throughout gave a beautiful, warm feeling. Orihime felt nothing but elation slip through her body, and an anxiety spread through her.

_I can't get through all of these in my lifetime. It's so beautiful._

A giggle slipped from her lips before she began smiling and looking through the room. Orihime danced from shelf to shelf, combing through each book individually. She traced the spines, noting whether she had read them before, if she had, she moved on; otherwise, Orihime read a page or two and moved on until she began to understand the system. The books were divided by subject. Slowly, Orihime found herself in what she assumed was a philosophy section where people she had never thought of seeing were collected. Orihime's parents—nor her aunt and uncle—had ever let her read anything that was philosophy. She had never heard of many of these writers outside of the really brilliant socialites at small parties. Otherwise, they were completely unknown to her, and they thrilled her.

Orihime found herself pulling book from book as she began to look into writers, ranging from French philosophers—based on what French she understood and recognized from their writing—to the Greek philosophers that she had only heard of. Their words were intriguing, and they began to strike somewhere in her heart that she had never noticed before. There were thoughts that she would never have developed on her own or been allowed to. Orihime sat and read until the door to the library slowly began to open, and she found herself in an interesting place.

"Ah, so I meet you again here. Isn't this rather 'disagreeable, distant, and anti-social'?" The man simply smiled and walked forward into the room. The smile didn't break as he lifted the glass to his face and took a drink from. Ichigo began walking towards the staircase in the middle of the room and upstairs, where Orihime had retrieved many of her books from. However, Orihime paid him no mind. Ichigo hadn't truly made himself much of a conversationalist to her yet, and he would have to do much more to redeem himself. Orihime simply giggled.

"What can I say? I have a pension for being a hypocrite. Life is easier to condemn those for doing the things that you enjoy. It's more fun that way as well."

Orihime felt herself smile quite boldly before she continued reading again. The world began to fade again until she was jolted back into reality.

"I had wondered where that book had run off to…" Orihime felt herself jump, and she jumped again when she turned to follow the voice. Ichigo was closer than she had imagined. He gazed over the arm of the chair, his breath rolling down her shoulders and across her neck, looking at the page she was reading. However, when Orihime had jumped, Ichigo had slid a smile back across his face after riding his face of the concentration he had poured into the book. Orihime looked shocked before anger slowly slid across her face—one rising from embarrassment and his subsequent happiness at her embarrassment.

"I guess it wandered off to a better owner—one who would appreciate it." Orihime tried to hide the annoyance in her tone, but she couldn't seem to suppress it. Despite her best efforts, her voice sounded strained, and she knew it was easy to read how annoyed she was at the situation.

Orihime only felt her anger get worse as she heard him snicker from near another set of bookcases. After taking pleasure in her surprise, Ichigo had moved to another bookcase and continued sipping his wine, only stopping to listen to her response and chuckle.

"That's potentially true. Someone who seems so enraptured in a text that they lose touch with reality is simply something I can only admire. Their…surprise at everything around them seems to be a rather…unique pleasure."

She could feel the smile he had across his face despite the fact that she couldn't see it whatsoever. Instead, she sat the book down, and stood up, adjusting her dress appropriately as she could.

_It's only because I was reading. _

Orihime couldn't help but feel somewhat ashamed at herself. She had always gotten somewhat annoyed when someone would incessantly disturb her during reading. It was her escape and pulling her back was always uneasy for her if it wasn't done on her terms. She got too involved and it was difficult to just remove herself from a story at any point.

"If one can't be surprised at life, there isn't much left to enjoy in it, Mr. Kurosaki," Orihime said as she began to walk nearer to a window and look out at the moon again, thinking back to her conversation with Mr. Urahara before and the concept of borrowing some of the books within the library.

"Ah, so you would be so quick to condemn the rest of us to death, Ms. Inoue. What a swift judge you are…"

The words seemed to trail from his mouth, and Orihime followed their footsteps back towards his tall figure. Although the mask still hid quiet a large part of his face, she was able to quite easily read the amused face that he had one, despite his best efforts to hide it. Mr. Kurosaki stood with a book opened in one hand while sipping from his glass with the other before placing the book back into the bookshelf he stood nearest. Orihime had never considered how tall he was until she saw how large his stature was compared to the bookshelf when she had stood near it.

"Swift saves the pain. It's better than drawing it out, I believe." She felt herself smile somewhat. Although not entirely true, there was a game to play with this, and she found herself taking the bait. It was enjoyable to play this match of chess with him, spouting words and random ideas to drift in her favor. It was fun to see the mechanisms turning for each competitor, hoping to get the move on the other. Orihime felt herself studying his stance and casual demeanor after her comment.

"Ah, so we prefer to yank off our bandages and not slowly pull them away. Interesting. Such a beautiful animal would rather be yanked from the thorns…I see. I would have to agree on that. So, you would be able to throw away a man than stay with him for consideration of his own feelings?"

Orihime watched as his stature seemed to grow somewhat confident, and she felt herself seem off-center to the idea.

"If I loved someone, I would be willing to pull away from the wound and not hold them to it. I cannot rightly do that to someone. This works under the assumption that I can truly love someone, and you should never base your hypothesis on an assumption if what I have read is correct."

Ichigo seemed to perk up at her comment. A smile crossed his face before he tilted his head down. Orihime felt a personal victory, and she felt herself quite content with such a supposition. With grace and as much calm as she could muster, Orihime began walking herself towards the door. As she reached the door and began to exit, she heard one final exclamation before she closed the door behind her.

"Indeed, Ms. Inoue, we will have to see if my assumption is true or not. We will have to see…"

Orihime felt as if he was getting one last jab in, trying to say that he could win this logical game. She neared the end of the hallway to find the group gathered together in the main hallway, standing in a circle and having a discussion. Yoruicihi simply turned as the other guests began to notice Orihime and greeted her with hurried hand gestures to join them together. Exclamations and happy phrases were exclaimed as Orihime neared them.

"How has the party been for you? Have you been enjoying yourself?" Rangiku seemed almost excited about the concept of Orihime finally having stepped out of her shell. "What were you doing over there? Away from everything?"

Orihime felt herself blushing once again, and she was thinking of a good excuse. _If Rangiku felt that this had been wasted on me…_

"I-"

"I have to admit that is my fault. I was speaking to Ms. Inoue—trying to get to know her better considering how important she is to my lovely wife—and I mentioned that she should go and look into our library. I had heard of her love for books, and I wanted to see if she admired my collection. In fact, I told her to ask for books that she would like to take home if she found any."

Orihime giggled as Rangiku seemed to consider everything. _For once, someone seems to support my reading habits._

"That was very generous of you, Mr. Urahara, and I'm sure Orihime will be more than interested in many of your books. Now, you have opened a Pandora's Box that I'm sure you will be more that interested in closing very quickly. You'll never get her to stop reading or borrowing books."

Rangiku was content with what had been said, and Orihime would be forever indebted to Mr. Urahara for helping her and providing her with chances to be herself. Her moment of consideration was drawn short by the sound of another voice joining into the conversation.

"I do hope that you will take advantage of the library. It would be a shame to see such knowledge and research go to waste."

Orihime watched as everyone's reactions seemed to change ever so slightly as the voice appeared, and she recognized its smug tone come drifting along with its melody. She was able to hold her composure until she felt the owner of the voice near close behind her.

"Ah! I have wondered about you, sir," Orihime's invaluable cousin seemed to exclaim louder than was necessary, "I haven't met you yet, and we are about to leave the party for the evening!"

Orihime watched as everyone seemed to see the atmosphere, and she heard one singular response from the owner of the melodic tone, one that only seemed to complicate the entire evening and potential future evenings as well.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, the 'disagreeable, distant, and anti-social' member of the party that had avoided everyone the day that you dined with my esteemed friends. I'm surprised that Ms. Inoue hadn't introduced me or mentioned me to you before now." Ichigo took a casual drink from his glass before handing it off to a servant nearby and returning to the conversation.

"She and I have had such a wonderful evening. It's a shame that she hadn't thought to mention me to such a dear family member," He said as he seemed to look around the group before taking in the shock on Rangiku's face, "Oh! Perhaps I'm running my mouth when I shouldn't have been. You'll have to forgive me. I'll banish myself back to my room as punishment. Goodnight, everyone." And with a slight gesture he leaned closer to whisper only in her ear: "Goodnight, Orihime."


End file.
